This article analyzes the dynamics of decolonizing food aid in Burkina Faso, focusing on endogenous school feeding practices between 2011 and 2024, within the framework of cooperation with the United States. By examining the interactions between the national school feeding policy and the one proposed by the NGO Catholic Relief Services, a stakeholder in U.S. foreign policy, the study shows how food aid, initially characterized by dependence on U.S. imports, gradually evolved to promote more inclusive models rooted in local knowledge. Drawing on a microhistorical approach, the study highlights the NGO’s practices aimed at supporting food self-sufficiency through the mobilization of local resources, community participation, as well as beneficiaries’ participation, namely students, who are the main beneficiaries. The article analyzes the impacts of this transition from assisted school feeding to endogenous school feeding and proposes avenues for consolidating this approach. This reflection is part of a broader framework seeking to rethink North–South relations in international cooperation initiatives.
Tiéwendé Jean Balima (Wed,) studied this question.